Former Shin Bet security agency Director Yuval Diskin has been approached by Labor about joining its ranks, party insiders said over the weekend.
Israel Hayom has learned that Labor leader Amir Peretz has spoken with Diskin several times in a bid to convince him to come on board as the party's potential candidate for the defense portfolio.
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This seeks to signal to voters that Labor, which on Thursday announced a merger with the Gesher party, still plans to focus of issues of diplomacy and security, thus appealing to a broader base, one official said.
Speaking with Army Radio on Sunday, Peretz stressed that Labor will not pursue any future merger with Meretz or with former Prime Minister Ehud Barak's Israel Democratic Party.
"There's absolutely no chance of a merger with Meretz or Barak," he said.
Peretz also reiterated that Labor will not join a government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit decided to press charges in any of the investigations currently being waged against the prime minister.
